Signs sprout as spring election nears

Related Articles

Comments

scanner

If this is the case in Yamhill County, why are there so many Mary Starrett signs that are clearly in the right-of-way?

09:25 pm - Wed, April 16 2014

paperclip

Hhm....one would think a candidate for County Commissioner would know the law and obey it.

09:29 pm - Wed, April 16 2014

Looey

Maybe it's a bogus law that infringes on the property owner's freedom to express their political views...and maybe the cities, county, and ODOT don't care to fight a battle they'd likely lose.

11:23 pm - Wed, April 16 2014

sunrise

Whoa Looey, are you saying that if a candidate (in this case Mary Starrett) decides that a law is bogus then they simply don't have to obey it? She might want to think ahead about the oath of office she would be taking whereby she swears to uphold the law as an elected official. A property owner does have a right to express their views on their property, not in the right-of-way.

06:00 am - Thu, April 17 2014

kona

Interesting ...... "scanner" and "paperclip" set up a straw-man setting and then "sunrise" puts the dagger in. Aren't politics exciting !!!

08:31 am - Thu, April 17 2014

Spongebob

For most campaigners, signs on public property aren't a matter of deliberately flouting the law; but more likely the result of over-zealous volunteers who are unclear of where the lines are. The boundaries of public rights-of-way are not always easy to determine. You might be surprised to find out how far into your own yard the public right-of-way extends. Looey is just plain wrong; these battles have been waged and decided many times. Fortunately, most public jurisdictions handle minor violations with reasonable tact; usually a phone call. But, as kona suggests, campaigns do get people excited.

09:51 am - Thu, April 17 2014

treefarmer

“…..campaigns do get people excited.” Indeed.

You make a great point, Spongebob. We can be sure that the candidates aren’t out there planting all those signs themselves. Still, the rules for locating signs ought to be obeyed and it does not reflect well on the candidate when boundaries are blatantly overstepped. I consider those huge improperly-placed signs to be offensive (sometimes dangerous) and while that is certainly not a major criteria that influences my vote, it is something to consider. It feels like the candidate needs to shout at us to compensate for his/her lack of actual substance. Further, (in this voter’s opinion) the huge “loud” signs tend to reflect poorly on the smaller ones that are planted around them as well. Guilt by association.